1. Field of the Invention
The present Invention is concerned with a steam injection module for the heating of pumped products, in particular with a steel carrier, wherein the steel carrier holds a single part production element in its operating position, wherein the operating temperatures amount to up to 150 degrees centigrade.
2. Brief Description of the Background of the Invention Including Prior Art
Such a steam injection module is known in the state-of-the-art from the German printed Patent document 19902610 C1. The known steam injection module is incorporated into a plant for the heating of pumpable products, wherein the steam injection module is connected in series sequentially with a several steam injection modules. The steam injection module exhibits a steam pipe fed through perpendicular to the product transport direction and therewith radially through the free transport cross-section of the product line, wherein the steam pipe is connected in known plants with its one end at the coordinated steam connection line and with its other end to the coordinated cleaning agent connection line. The steam pipe is furnished with steam exit bore holes in the region of the product line cross-section and comprises plastic.
The known steam injection module exhibits further a product line section made out of plastic, wherein the product line section is welded to the steam pipe perpendicularly penetrating the product line section and thereby the product line section together with the steam pipe form a single part plastic element, wherein the single part plastic element is held in a stainless steel carrier.
It is felt to be disadvantageous in connection with this steam injection module that initially the product line section is inserted into the stainless steel carrier and is peened and bent to a flange at both of its ends for the production of the steam injection module and thereupon the required radial bore holes in the product line section are made, whereupon the steam pipe furnished already with the steam exit bore holes is inserted into the radial bore holes of the product line section, whereupon the two ends of the steam pipe are peened and bent to flanges and the steam pipe is welded to the product line section. This mode of production is comparatively complicated and cost intensive, since the single part plastic element is only in the incorporated state in the steel carrier welded to a single part plastic element, whereby the welding seams are generated, wherein a hygienic cleaning of the welding seams is only possible with difficulties.
As already mentioned above, several steam injection modules are connected successively in series in the plant for obtaining an improved steam distribution in the respective product. The injection region can be adapted in the power size to changed conditions, for example to an increased production throughput, by the installation of additional steam injection modules. The size of the steam injection modules can be selected depending on the product viscosity and the throughput power. The disintegration of the product for increasing the surface for the steam injection is achieved by the disposition of the steam pipe furnished with the steam exit bore holes radially to the product flow. The number of the injection bore holes for each module results here again depending on the product viscosity and the throughput power. The injection bore holes can here be formed cylindrical or with a conical exit for optimizing the steam distribution. The disposition of the injection bore holes in the steam pipe is performed depending on the product requirements. An improvement of the distribution of the product by the steam beams is achieved by having the injection bore holes disposed perpendicular or opposite to the product stream direction. An injector effect is obtained by having the injection bore holes disposed in flow direction, wherein the injector effect can partially compensate pressure losses in case of highly viscous products.
It is advantageous when at least the inner jacket face of the product line exhibits a low frictional coefficient relative to the product to be transported in order to avoid attachments and burning in into the product line and/or on the steam pipe and in order to minimize pressure losses. Here it is advantageous where both the product line as well as the steam pipe are formed of plastic, preferably out of PTFE or PFA.
Therefore it is an object of the present Invention to furnish a steam injection module, where the individual parts of the steam injection module can be produced in a simple manner, wherein the mounting and assembly of the steam injection module is simple and where the cleaning process corresponds to the hygienic requirements of food production.